Current News

15 March 2019

Three Mile Island: 40 Years Later

Kelly Classic, Web Operations Editor in Chief

Where were you 40 years ago?

I'd like to say I was a toddler and don't remember Three Mile Island (TMI), but I think my friends and colleagues would roll their eyes! In truth, I was in college to be an x-ray tech, not yet even knowing about the field of health physics. When TMI happened, it was interesting, but probably not as impactful as it would have been had I been a health physicist at the time.

So . . . where were you 40 years ago? Tell us and we'll share your story. And/or tell us how you think TMI affected the way things are done today. Stories shared before 1 April will be highlighted in that issue of Health Physics News and those shared before 15 April will be in that issue. Please keep stories to 200 words or less and related to health physics.

In the meantime, here are some links to interesting information about TMI:

The 5th International Symposium on the System of Radiological Protection (ICRP 2019) will be held in Adelaide, South Australia, 19–21 November 2019.

Joining with the Australasian Radiation Protection Society (ARPS) and the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) of the Australian government, ICRP 2019 will highlight "Mines, Medicine, and Mars." Interested parties are encouraged to save these dates and follow ICRP 2019's Facebook page as well as ICRP's Twitter feed.

Calling all authors and researchers! We want to hear about your work! The Health Physics Journal is issuing a call for original research, review articles, and operational topic articles. See more details online.

13 March 2019

Program Coming Together for 2019 HPS Annual Meeting

The Health Physics Society (HPS) Program Committee would like to sincerely thank all HPS members who submitted abstracts for the 2019 HPS Annual Meeting, which will be held 7–11 July in Orlando, Florida. The Program Committee received 279 abstracts by the 28 February deadline, 157 (56%) of which were received on the last day. The Program Committee's Orlando Task Force met in Orlando 7–8 March and organized the 64th annual meeting. The Task Force members met with the Local Arrangements Committee and Hilton Hotel staff, toured the facility, and evaluated meeting rooms. The Task Force reviewed 295 abstracts and placed 230 abstracts into 34 sessions and 65 abstracts into the poster session. Overall, the planning meeting was a huge success as the team left the 1.5-day meeting with a preliminary program. The Task Force urges members to make your reservations now and plan to attend the 64th Annual Meeting of the Health Physics Society. We look forward to seeing you in Orlando.

Did you notice a group of abstracts published in the last issue of Health Physics? We have another batch in the April issue, and these come to us from our colleagues in China. The Health Physics Society is working to increase our collaboration with the Chinese Society of Radiation Protection (CSRP), and as part of this initiative, Health Physics and the CSRP's journal, Fushe Fanghu (which translates to Radiation Protection), have agreed to exchange abstracts. The abstracts from papers appearing in Fushe Fanghu will be republished in English in Health Physics, and our abstracts will be republished in their journal. Nuclear power and radiation sciences in general are advancing rapidly in China. It is our hope that this abstract exchange will be mutually beneficial to radiation protection professionals in both countries and will lead to further collaboration in the future.

1 March 2019

March 2019 Short Course Listings

A new list of short course offerings has been posted on the Short Courses page of the HPS website. Information on the following courses is available:

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is advertising for nominations for the Nuclear Medicine Physician and the Patients' Rights Advocate positions on the Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes (ACMUI). For more information about ACMUI, please see the NRC ACMUI website. If you know of anyone who might be qualified and wish to be nominated, please have them call me at 970-260-2810 or email me and I will send the official Federal Register announcement. Nominations are due on or before 22 April 2019. HPS member Mike Sheetz of the University of Pittsburgh is a current member of the committee.

At the 2019 Health Physics Society (HPS) Annual Meeting, the Department of Energy will devote a special technical session to presentations and discussions of ongoing activities on translational approaches to improve health effects knowledge in support of radiation protection guidance. The session will be cochaired by Dr. Isaf Al-Nabulsi and Dr. Daniela Stricklin.

The goal of this session will be to increase awareness of ongoing translational approaches used by the international community to translate mechanistic data into actionable knowledge for radiation protection and policy. The application and utility of approaches such as the adverse outcome pathway analysis and biologically based dose-response models will be discussed. Speakers will provide highlights on how these approaches are currently being applied and where these efforts heading in the future.

HPS members are invited and encouraged to attend the session and provide comments on this topic. For more information about the session, please contact Drs. Daniela Stricklin at and Isaf Al-Nabulsi. This technical session is scheduled for the morning of Tuesday, 9 July. Please check the meeting program for more information when it becomes available on the HPS website.

26 February 2019

Local Arrangements Committee Making Plans for 2019 HPS Annual Meeting

The 64th Annual Meeting of the Health Physics Society (HPS) comes to Orlando 7–11 July 2019. The Local Arrangements Committee (LAC), comprised mostly of members from the Florida Chapter, has been hard at work making plans for a memorable meeting for our colleagues and their companions.

Florida is a big state, but relatively narrow in the central portion, being about 240 kilometers across. Thus an Orlando visitor can take advantage of features on both the Gulf and Atlantic (also referred to as Space Coast) sides, neither requiring more than about 90 minutes of driving time.

Consequently, when you attend the HPS annual meeting you might want to consider visits to Cape Canaveral or Busch Gardens. Busch Gardens in Tampa will add a major thrill ride to its lineup, a roller coaster called Tigris, in spring 2019. Tigris will feature looping twists with forward and backward motion, a 46-meter skyward surge and an inverted roll at speeds exceeding 96 kilometers per hour. With three intensely exciting launch points, this ride is unlike anything else in the Florida coaster collection. Tigris will be Florida's tallest launch coaster.

Some other items on which the LAC is working include:

Local attractions: The LAC is not planning prearranged tours as most attractions are easily accessed. Information on the various attractions will be provided to attendees and companions.

Open Mic Night: The tradition continues. The LAC will help out with the venue and other arrangements.

Pub Crawl: Another tradition continues. The LAC is working on the details and location.

Night Out: For those who opt out of the Pub Crawl, the LAC is planning an old-fashioned Night Out, just like the HPS did 20 years ago, providing a chance for casual conversation and fun.

Merchandise: How can you have an annual meeting if you don't have souvenirs to buy to remember it? The LAC is working on shirts, hats, and maybe some other logo-embossed goodies for folks to buy.

We are looking forward to a great annual meeting in Orlando!

22 February 2019

John Gough Synopsis of IRPA Session at 2019 HPS Midyear

Health Physics Society (HPS) Medical Section President John Gough gives a synopsis of the section's involvement in the International Radiation Protection Association's special session on radiation safety culture in health care at the 2019 HPS Midyear Meeting in San Diego.

22 February 2019

Bernard le Guen Discussion of IRPA Session at 2019 HPS Midyear

International Radiation Protection Association (IRPA) Executive Director Bernard le Guen discusses the IRPA Special Session on Radiation Protection in Medicine that was held at the 2019 Health Physics Society Midyear Meeting in San Diego.

It recently came to light that three buckets containing uranium ore were located in a public area at the Grand Canyon—possibly exposing anyone who came near. Health Physics Society experts have written the information sheet "Uranium at the Grand Canyon—HPS Expert Input" to address the reported radiation doses.

20 February 2019

HPS Member Kathryn Higley Interviewed About Grand Canyon Uranium

In an interview with The Verge on the buckets of uranium found at a Grand Canyon museum, Health Physics Society member Kathryn Higley said "the likelihood of people receiving serious radiation exposures is extremely unlikely." Higley, the head of the School of Nuclear Science and Engineering at Oregon State University, provided information about uranium and the incident.

20 February 2019

HPS Member Craig Little Responds to Grand Canyon Radiation Issue

Health Physics Society member and uranium expert Dr. Craig Little responded in an article by Dennis Wagner of the Arizona Republic to claims that people were exposed to uranium in a National Park building at the Grand Canyon.